Jacksonville Jaguars: Just how bad can the offense get?

Is it possible that the Jacksonville Jaguars offense has hit rock bottom, or could it somehow get even worse?

Head coach Doug Marrone thought that the Jacksonville Jaguars offense needed a spark. He benched Blake Bortles in favor of Cody Kessler and fired their offensive coordinator. Since then, the question has become, just how bad can their offense get?

It’s no secret that Bortles had the propensity to throw passes to the wrong jersey. In fact, some of those interceptions were run back for touchdowns. Bortles had lost his confidence that he found through the 2017 playoff run, so Marrone was forced to make the move to Kessler.

Kessler has not thrown a pick-six since starting, but has not provided a spark to the offense, either. Last Sunday was the worst game in Kessler’s brief stint as the starting quarterback. He completed nine of 17 passes for 57 yards with one interception and a quarterback rating of 35.7 in the loss to Washington.

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The power running attack is lacking power, as well. Leonard Fournette is a shell of his 2017 self. Against Washington, he had 11 carries for 46 yards while catching three passes for 18 yards. Most of all, the Jaguars can not find a way to score touchdowns. Kessler threw a touchdown pass after the Tennessee Titans had the game locked up, so that was meaningless. Nov. 25 in Buffalo was the last game where the Jaguars scored multiple touchdowns.

Dede Westbrook has scored the last three touchdowns that the Jaguars have scored. He returned a punt against Washington and caught touchdown passes from Bortles in Buffalo and from Kessler in Week 14 against the Titans. He is playing very well and is the lone bright spot on the offense.

Of course, injuries have ravaged the offensive line. The replacements have not stepped up to meet the challenge. Expect the Jaguars to address and upgrade the offensive line and quality depth in the offseason.

Jacksonville is going to limp into Miami and into Houston to close the season. Just how bad can the offense get? They could get shutout in these last two games.

Miami is playing for a wildcard spot in the playoffs. Their run defense ranks near the bottom by giving up 145.2 rushing yards per game. Miami will, no doubt, stack the box to force Kessler to throw the ball. How has that worked out lately?

Houston want to keep win to get the first round bye in the playoffs. They are just one game ahead of New England for the AFC’s second seed. Remember when the Jaguars beat New England in September, so decisively?

At this point, the Jaguars are better served by continuing to lose. In order for their offense to get better, they need to have a high draft spot to select a franchise quarterback. How bad can it get? Hopefully as bad as possible to get the future face of the offense.